A total of eleven Action Lines
have been identified as priorities for Calls for Proposals in
1999. They form a coherent set from the point of view of basic
technology development and application. Work in one Action Line
can feed into or build upon work in another, and larger projects
can address work in several Action Lines.
Action Line Descriptions
II.1 RTD Spanning Key Action
II
II.1.1 New perspectives for
work and business
Objective: To develop, quantify
and demonstrate evolution scenarios and the potential social
and economic impacts of new technologies and services on work
and business in the next decade. Work should actively engage
socio-economic research on the barriers faced by companies. It
should be based on benchmarking, econometric models, new statistical
indicators and technology foresight, to guide RTD and inform
policy development. It should involve socio-economic research
in the technology projects to aid in technology shaping and in
identifying new skills requirements. Particular emphasis should
be placed on identifying new opportunities for economic growth,
employment, social inclusion and health and safety. Attention
should also be given to entrepreneurship, equal opportunities,
adaptability and to legal and policy issues related to networked
organisational structures, such as virtual enterprises with respect
to liability and IPR protection, in a global environment. Activities
should include measures to raise public awareness and support
the policy debates. This work is to be largely addressed by IST
Support Measures.
II.1.2 Corporate knowledge
management
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
tools for representing, capturing, accumulating and transferring
distributed organisational knowledge in working environments.
The focus is on increasing individual and organisational adaptability
and accelerating "learning from experience" in networked
organisations. The focus should be on the intangible corporate
knowledge about relationships and business/organisation practices
as well as about more formalised skills. The goal is to research
and demonstrate tools and best practice supporting the variety
of work and learning cultures in the EU, specifically including
younger first-time employees. The work should involve multi-disciplinary
research, technology development and trials in real work situation,
which should serve as showcases of best practice.
II.2 Flexible, Mobile and
Remote Working Methods and Tools
II.2.1 Workplace design
Objective: To develop, integrate
and evaluate innovative workplace technologies and concepts in
a variety of work situations, including those involving mobility
and dynamic roles, to create more effective and user-friendly
work environments. The focus is on the research into integrated
leading-edge technologies and tools for multi-sensory communication,
information access and analysis, including for example augmented
reality tools and wearables, and for individual and team creativity,
giving due consideration to usability, health and safety, gender
issues and the quality of working life. The work should involve
multi-disciplinary research, technology development and trials
in real work situations, which should serve as showcases for
world-best workplace design.
II.2.2 Team work
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
reference models, architectures and technologies that enable
teams to work together across different, possibly mobile, locations
and different time zones. These systems and services should allow
sharing and managing information both in real-time and asynchronously,
supported by appropriate models, simulations and analytical tools.
The work is to involve the linking and integration of heterogeneous
workplaces, and to support both intra-company as well as inter-organisational
working.
II.2.3 Dynamic networked organisations
Objective: To develop models,
and demonstrate tools and systems for dynamic networked and virtual
organisations, facilitating co-operation and the inter-operation
of business processes, the management of large scale and complex
business operations and on-line employee consultation. The work
is expected to include benchmarking and evaluation of networked
organisation models and the development of tools and systems
for co-operative planning and scheduling of resources. Work should
address in particular the needs of European SMEs as participants
in global business networks and their infrastructure requirements,
and on new business development. It is expected to contribute
to business-led consensus building, for example on codes of practice,
the legal framework and interoperability, including in the Global
Business Dialogue, and to world-best showcases of new business
practice.
II.3 Management Systems for
Suppliers and Consumers
II.3.1 Digital design and
life-cycle management for products and services
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
models, systems and tools enabling products and services to be
designed and developed digitally for full life-cycle management.
The focus is on digital prototyping, simulation and virtual reality
support for distributed design, including requirements capture,
development, production, distribution and maintenance, including
upgrading. The products and services particularly envisaged are
those, which, in combination, make full use of embedded intelligence,
linked with external communication and information services.
Work is expected to involve interaction between suppliers, products
in use, and customers to maximise value, minimise overall environmental
cost, and facilitate enhancement and re-use.
II.3.2 New market mediation
systems
Objective: To develop innovative
marketplace concepts and technologies as well as to assess various
architectures and tools for virtual marketplaces and business
communities. The work should include mediation systems and tools
for brokerage, to enable new business models, new types of trade
and trade in new types of services. The work should cover emerging
technologies for billing, payment, VAT collection, interactions
with administrations, negotiation and brokerage and mediation
and should reflect European diversity in business organisation
and networking, and in financial services including access to
venture capital (notably, for SMEs).
II.3.3 Enhanced consumer-supplier
relationships
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
systems and services to facilitate balanced relationships between
consumers / customers and a range of suppliers of goods and services.
The focus is on: empowering them as partners in the life-cycle
management of goods and services, to facilitate maintenance,
repair (particularly under guarantees), trading, customer feedback
and personalisation; the management of personal information and
preferences (in accordance with the EU data protection legislation),
including enhanced consumer influence on the provision of product
and service information to them; and consumer protection, including
advice and redress services. The work should contribute to an
effective consensus on interoperability, enabling consumers to
use the tools in all Member States with a wide range of suppliers,
and on regulation, especially self-regulation.
II.4 Information and Network
Security and Other Confidence Building Technologies
II.4.1 Identification and
authentication
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
architectures, protocols, technologies, tools, systems and services,
including the use of third-party services, allowing for a diversity
of approaches to trust management, to allow identification and
authentication of individuals and services and items of equipment
in inter-business, retail and personal relationships, and to
prevent unauthorised collection, recording and disclosure of
data. Work is expected to enable equitable multi-role personal
identification with adequate privacy-enhancing features under
an individual's control. Emphasis is placed on achieving international
compatibility and interoperability, scalability and reconfigurability,
to enable increased, flexible trans-border work, trade and collaboration.
II.4.2 Secure electronic financial
transactions
Objective: To develop and demonstrate
interoperable systems for secure electronic financial transactions,
notably for use in the global marketplace and supporting the
EURO, applicable in business-to-business, retail and transactions
with public administrations. The work is expected to cover billing,
payment, accounting and record keeping, as well as anonymous,
small and micro payments. The focus is on scalability and interoperability
between systems and on risk-management. The work is expected
to include high-reliability and tamper-proof component development,
including innovative smart-card and personal token systems.
II.4.3 Digital object transfer
Objective: To develop, validate
and pilot the components, architectures, tools, systems and services
to support the transfer of digital objects and their management
as commercial assets. The focus is on providing best practice
examples and validating business models on a large scale, which
apply European strengths in innovative technologies and systems
with a view to promoting widespread take-up amongst businesses.
Attention should be given to global consensus on interoperable
rights management systems, social, cultural, economic and legal
impact assessment, and experimenting with advanced technologies
for digital object rights and usage identification, including
anonymity support and their integration into new business models. |